Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Browne, who will have as much, if not more, interest in this matter than me. The economic argument in favour of providing natural gas to County Wexford is fairly compelling. As the Minister of State will be aware, economic indicators suggest County Wexford needs to increase its industrial base. On most economic scales, Wexford, as with most other counties in the south east, is lagging behind other parts of the country.

The natural gas pipeline has been brought to counties Waterford, Kilkenny, Carlow and Wicklow, which all share a border with County Wexford. For some reason, Wexford has not been successful to date and I therefore ask the Minister of State to use his good offices to remedy this. New hospitals and hotels have been built in Wexford and tourism is strong, but the county's industries are at a serious competitive disadvantage because natural gas is not available to them. I understand savings of some 33% can be made on energy costs if one has access to natural gas.

It surprised me that the natural gas pipelines to Waterford and Arklow in Wicklow have reached maximum capacity. Therefore, if Wexford is to receive natural gas, a new spur will probably have to be brought from the Dublin-Cork line. This leads one to question the projections made in making investment decisions. It is not so long since the gas pipeline was laid to Arklow and that it is insufficient to serve Wexford is evidence of a certain lack of foresight. The Commission for Energy Regulation produced a report in 2001 and it focused very much on the viability of the pipeline. However, this must be balanced by considering the economic benefits of the locations the pipeline serves.

The provision of a pipeline should be considered in terms of the provision of infrastructure to the county. Nobody would suggest we should build roads to particular locations on the basis of their economic viability. Infrastructure must be made available across the regions, particularly to peripheral areas. The Government has a policy of decentralisation and, if it is to be effective economically, infrastructure must be provided across the regions.

The only county in the south east and along the east coast that does not have natural gas is Wexford. I hope the review Bord Gáis Éireann will be undertaking in the near future will consider more than the economic viability of a pipeline to Wexford, and that the interests of the county, including those of its industries and public services, will be factored into any decision made. The Minister of State will obviously be keeping this foremost in his mind when any decision is made. I wish him well in his position generally and particularly in respect of this issue.